India Women vs Australia Women 5th T20: Harmanpreet Kaur says THIS is big takeaway after 1-4 series loss

India women cricket team may have been handed a comprehensive 1-4 defeat in the series but the biggest takeaway for the hosts from the five-game T20I series has been ‘self-belief’, said women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur. India lost the fifth and final women’s T20I by 54 runs in Mumbai on Tuesday (December 20) to end the series on a disappointing note.

Sent into bat, Ashleigh Gardner (66 not out) and Grace Harris (64 not out) smashed explosive unbeaten fifties as Australia posted an imposing 196 for 4. Heather Graham then claimed a hat-trick, only the second woman cricketer from her country to do so, to bowl out India for 142.

“I think we were really good in the first 10-12 overs. We know the kind of power they (Australia) have in their game, unfortunately we weren’t able to stop them. Lot of learnings for us,” Harmanpreet said in the post-match presentation.

.@Deepti_Sharma06 top-scored with 5_3_ off just 34 deliveries in #TeamIndia's chase but it's Australia who won the final #INDvAUS T20I.

Scorecard __ https://t.co/lcM9rcoQxe pic.twitter.com/bzfLCwlpO1 — BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 20, 2022

“We knew the type of cricket they play, happy to have improved though in a lot of areas. Lot of things we learnt from them, the way they were clearing the boundaries – that’s something we’d like to bring in. Self-belief has been the biggest positive in this series. We have a month off now where we’d like to train hard before the World Cup,” she added.

Australia stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath said they take pride in playing fearless cricket, which was on full display on Tuesday. “It’s always a fierce battle against India, and this series didn’t disappoint. The power game is impressive to watch, loved watching Ash (Gardner) and Grace (Harris) today. We pride ourselves on fearless cricket, like to take the game on and stay ahead. The crowds have been the best thing about the series, India came hard at us,” she said.

Gardner, who was adjudged Player of the series, said she is just enjoying her game. “Just enjoying my cricket more than anything else, reaping the benefits on the field,” she said.

“I think it’s easy batting with someone like Grace, who has the power game to back up the chat. I've just enjoyed my cricket over the last 12 months. I feel some games I'm more of a bowler, in others a batter.”

(with PTI inputs)